Season two of Westworld begins this July. The next chapter in Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy‘s series won’t pick up exactly where season one left off. There’s going to be a bit of a time jump, but of course, we’ll see the effects of what unfolded in the season one finale. According to Lisa Joy, the stakes and scope are now going to “increase dramatically.”

Below, read what Joy and Nolan had to say about some of their plans for Westworld season 2.

Westworld has been enveloped in mystery since it first hit the airwaves on HBO last fall, and although most of Reddit and the Internet have guessed its many twists and turns, the show is going to keep it that way for Season 2.

We know very little of the second season of HBO’s genre hit, other than the fact that it’s happening. Release dates? Episode titles? Cast? Nothing. But co-creator and writer Jonathan Nolan have decided to appease thirsty Westworld fans with a tantalizing hint for the second season premiere. Naturally, frenzied theorizing ensues.

Westworld‘s overlapping timelines created an intriguing maze for viewers to solve in the first season, but showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy — who are in the midst of writing the next season that is set to air in 2018 — say that they don’t plan to revisit the multiple timeline format for the second season.

Instead, season 2 will see a time jump, and won’t take place immediately after the events of the season 1 finale. The big question is which direction that time jump will take.

Now that we’ve had enough time to digest the Westworld season one finale, I wanted to take a look towards Westworld season 2. What do we know about the second season of this hit HBO series? I took a deep dive into interviews with Westworld co-creators and showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, as well as chats with the series’ stars Evan Rachel Wood, Jimmi Simpson and Anthony Hopkins, a Facebook live Q&A as well as HBO’s ARG website and marketing materials.

In total, I swam through over two dozen different sources to uncover everything we know about Westworld season 2. So what did I find out? Hit the jump to board the train to Sweetwater.

The season finale of Westworld is just a couple days away, and soon we’ll get to see how many of the ever-growing list of theories about the show actually turn out to be true. The most recent episode of Westworld already confirmed one major theory that has been kicking around since the season premiere, and the finale will likely confirm or debunk the popular but controversial theory that Jimmi Simpson‘s character William is actually a younger version of Ed Harris‘ character The Man in Black.

While we wait for the 90-minute season season finale to hit HBO on Sunday, series executive producer J.J. Abrams stopped by The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night to tease what he calls a “crazy” conclusion to the first season, and he even brought a clip from the finale to hold us over.

Westworld is a show that’s raised more than a few questions in its first season. Fans have gone wild with all sorts speculation and fan theories, placing some of the show’s tiniest details under a microscope. With the upcoming Westworld season one finale, most of the hit series’ questions will get answered, according to creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy.

Westworld crossed a point of no return with its most recent episode, dropping a game-changing revelation and removing a key player from the chess board altogether. And in real Westworld fashion, each answeronly inspiresnew questions, deepening the rabbit hole and giving fans more material to explore.

While the biggest mysteries remain unsolved, showrunner Jonathan Nolan has gone ahead and answered one of the show’s most minor and inconsequential questions in a surprising and humorous way.

Earlier this week, we shared with you the Westworld episode 7 trailer complete with an extensive image-by-image breakdown. Now that we are gearing up for the weekend, HBO has officially released their preview images for “Trompe L’Oeil” featuring the return of Thor: Ragnarok/Creed star Tessa Thompson. Hit the jump to take a look at the Westworld episode 7 photos and learn more about this weekend’s episode.

Last week, Westworld spent the bulk of its time within the park itself (and likely within the show’s past), following Dolores and William as they ventured toward the Maze and had a bloody, empowering Wild West adventure. This week compensated by shifting the focus to park operations (and likely in the show’s present), offering up corporate espionage, horrifying malfunctions, and an overwhelming sense of dread. As we do every week, let’s try to answer 10 questions (some literal, others rhetorical) from “The Adversary.”

We are only four episodes into the ten episode first season of HBO’s Westworld, and we’re already wondering where the show could possibly be headed. Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood adds some more fuel to that fire, revealing that the last two episodes of the season will blow our minds and break out hearts. Find out exactly what Wood said about the Westworld season 1 finale, after the jump.Read More »